The Buffalo Bills lost to the Kansas City Chiefs 32-19 in the AFC Championship game on Sunday.
It was the Bills‘ second time reaching the conference title contest in Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen’s career, as the team far exceeded offseason expectations.
The Chiefs, however, continued their winning ways against them in the postseason.
“It’s not fun,” Allen said during a somber press conference after the loss. “To be the champs, you have to beat the champs. And we didn’t do that.”
The Bills overcame a sloppy start to fight into a close game in the second half, but ultimately the Chiefs would score a field goal that would put them ahead, and Allen and the offense would not convert under pressure on 4th down in their final possession.
The play got blown up, and Allen was able to make a play despite a full-on rush attack by the Chiefs. His target, tight end Dalton Kincaid, was not able to do so.
“We’re a good team. They’re a good team. It’s just unfortunate how that last play turned out,” Kincaid said in the locker room postgame.
“Should be a catch,” he stated about his final play. “I believe you grow from this but for the time being it hurts a lot.”
This was the Bills’ second consecutive playoff loss to the Chiefs which will be remembered for a dropped pass late in the game, as former Bill Stefon Diggs missed on a deep ball last season.
The game was peppered with some visible incorrect calls by the officials that cost Buffalo and impacted the outcome of the game.
It was also peppered with instances where the Bills had difficulty protecting the ball.
Still, Allen made no excuses afterward for the outcome.
“You can either get it done, or you can’t,” he added, “and we didn’t get it done.”
The Bills have now lost all four postseason meetings against the Mahomes-led Chiefs team since 2020 and have lost eight straight road playoff games. Allen-led Bills teams are 0-2 in the AFC Championship.
It is the first time in NFL playoff history that a team has eliminated another one four times in a five-season span.
Despite this, the Buffalo roster showed signs of being closer to competing and beating the defending champion Chiefs, including an elite performance by running back James Cook and some competitive stops by the defense.
Teams with four-plus touchdowns and no turnovers are 21-2 in the playoffs with the only two losses being Buffalo’s against Kansas City in Sunday’s game and the 2021 Divisional round.
Amidst a mostly silent Bills locker room after the game, offensive lineman Dion Dawkins gave offensive coordinator Joe Brady a hug. “We’ve got the right soldiers to knock. And eventually, the door is going to open” he noted when speaking to the press.
The Bills will now turn to an important offseason where they will need to make the necessary moves off the field to compete to do just that on it next season and beyond.